9/26/2007 - AFS on history tour for 60th birthday
It takes a crank to start and levers to operate, but a Model T Ford ambulance seen around Nelson recently is promoting a programme that has changed with the times and is now celebrating its 60th birthday.
by TOM HUNT - The Nelson Mail | Tuesday, 25 September 2007
American Field Service – more commonly known as AFS - Nelson hosting coordinator Judith Fitchett said the volunteer organisation grew out of ambulance officers working on battlefields in the two world wars.
After World War 2, it morphed into a programme that organises international exchanges for high school students. This week, it is celebrating the 60th birthday of the change.
To mark the occasion, a 1917 Model T Ford replica ambulance has been travelling throughout the Nelson region, raising AFS’s profile and educating people on its history.
It was at MS Ford in Haven Rd on Tuesday, and will spend the next two days at the Richmond Mall. On Friday, it will be outside the Nelson Provincial Museum in Trafalgar St, and on Saturday it will be at the Nelson Market.
A specialist vintage car enthusiast has been employed to operate the car, which despite being a replica has an original engine that was probably used during World War 1.
Mrs Fitchett said three students from the Nelson region were currently away on AFS exchanges, with two in Costa Rica and one in Mexico. Eight more were leaving next year.
Five international students were staying with volunteer Nelson host families, and five more were coming next year, she said.
She said the only real link between the AFS of today and those who volunteered at the wars’ front lines was that it remained entirely volunteer-based.
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